Clipper guide device



May 14, 1968 I D. CERCONE CLIPPER GUIDE DEVICE Filed Feb. 17, 1966 l l I l ll H/S A T TORNEVS United States Patent 3,382,877 CLIPPER GUIDE DEVICE Daniel Cercone, 4720 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15224 Filed Feb. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 528,196 8 Claims. (Cl. 132-45) This invention relates to barbering apparatus and more particularly to a comb specifically adapted for use by a barber in conjunction with electric hair clippers for cutting and trimming hair to artistic patterns.

Combs of various designs have been introduced by the prior art to aid the barber in the cutting of hair. A notable contribution to the art is presented in the patent to Arthur Cornellier, US. Patent No. 1,457,726. Cornelliers barber comb had a typical comb configuration, e.g., a straight back or body portion and a set of parallel teeth extending from the body portion, with the addition of a series of cutter guides or projections, one jutting out from the face of each tooth so that such guides form a substantially parallel line with and at a distance from the comb body portion. The purpose of the guide projections is to provide stop blocks to prevent the barber, when lifting hair with a comb and applying clippers thereto, from overrunning the comb and accidentally removing more hair than was intended. Cornelliers comb, at the time of its introduction to the art, was found to be very useful particularly in conjunction with hand operated mechanical clippers and to some extent with the type of clippers which utilize a flexible drive shaft for their actuation. With the advent of high speed barbers clippers utilizing a self-contained electric motor, guide combs such as that of Cornellier lost their popularity and eventually fell into disuse principally because they tended to detract from the primary advantage of the newer clippers, e.g., the barber was required to slow down the movement of his clippers in order to avoid causing irreparable damage to his customers hair. Not only did such combs have the disadvantage of increasing the time required for a barber to complete an acceptable haircut but they were clumsy and uncomfortable in use; they were not specifically designed to allow the barber to hold his clippers in the most natural position.

As a result of my experience and background in the art, it has been my observation that a need for a specially designed, new and improved banbers guide comb has developed along with the increasing popularity of unique and diverse haircut styles. I have further observed that such a guide comb must be designed to obviate the disadvantages of prior art guide combs, so that rather than interferring with the rapid haircutting operation, it will elfectively increase the barbers speed and shorten the time required to satisfactorily cut a head of hair. The comb must be capable of rapid combing action without snagging or pulling and must be also capab e of different clipper guide operations with or without the use of guide stops, so the barber is not required to interrupt his operation to continually exchange his clipper guide comb for a conventional smooth-faced comb.

-I also realized that such a comb, to be acceptable, must also embody another important feature: the comb must be constructed to enable the barber to hold his clippers at the most natural and comfort-able position while rapidly and safely cutting a head of hair.

In accordance with my observations it is theref re a primary object of my invention to provide a barbering comb which incorporates a clipper guide means for use with high speed electric clippers, with such comb being "ice quickly changeable so as to selectively present a nonrestricted comb surface to facilitate rapid longitudinal rotary movement of the clipper head for the final cutting operation.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a new and imporved barbering comb having an integral clipper guide means which is uniquely adapted to the natural direction of motion and position of the barbers hand that is directing the clippers thereon.

In my experiments to arrive at a configuration for a comb that would embody the aforementioned preferred characteristics, one form that I first considered comprised a comb body similar in dimensions to the present invention but having an adjustable handle which could be rotated at its point of attachment to the comb body on an axis of to the combs face.

I had long realized from my own experience that it was unnatural and uncomfortable for a barber to hold his clippers with the edge of the cutting head thereof in parallel alignment with the line formed by the ends of the teeth of a comb. This is one reason why I have long considered a comb such as Cornelliers as cum-bersome to use efficiently.

What I was attempting to develop was a comb which would be useable in a rapid rough-cutting operation in conjunction with electric clippers; a comb that would be comfortable to use in that it would allow the barber to cant his clippers toward his left or comb hand, that is, allow the barber to rotate the clippers slightly away from the abnormal straight-up position. Thus, with the barbers clipper hand grasping the clippers in an overhand manner with the palm of the hand against the clipper body and toward the head, the cutting head of the clipper could then be tilted in the direction of the thumb of the clipper hand and the cord end of the clipper would be swung in the opposite direction toward the small finger of the clipper hand.

My experiments with a comb having a pivotal handle portion were conducted with the comb face having a line of guide stops or projections that was positioned near and parallel to the edge of the comb defined by the ends of one set of teeth. With the handle portion adjustably rotated approximately 15 and then fixed in such position, it seemed reasonable that this would provide a comb that could be moved through the hair in the normal manner and then, by rotating the body thereof slightly on a substantially vertical axis normal to the face thereof and pulling the handle portion to a substantially horizontal position would result in swinging the line of projections from a horizontal plane through an arc of approximately 15 toward the vertical. Thus, the clippers, as they were directed by the right hand over the face of the comb and toward the line of guide projections, would not have to be held in an unnatural and uncomfortable position with the edge of the cutter head horizontal and the clippers moving through a path defining a line perpendicular to the horizontal.

The concept of a pivotal handle portion on the barbering comb seemed also reasonable from the standpoint that it could be adjusted to suit the individual barbers preference. However, this concept was found to be unacceptable because, although it had the effect of providing the right or clipper hand with a more natural motion, it also required an unnatural motion in the left hand. It was thus determined that such a comb was disadvantageous because of the difiiculty for the average barber to adapt to continually rotating the comb slightly on a vertical axis at the end of each stroke of the comb through the hair.

It was also found that such a comb was not readily adaptable for rotation on its longitudinal axis for using the smooth side or opposite face thereon in a fine-cutting operation. It is acknowledged, however, that the foregoing experimentation contributed to the development of the barbering comb presented herein.

In accordance with my invention I provide a barbering comb having an intermediate flat rectangular base portion from which is extended along each edge thereof separate sets of teeth such that the base portion and its oppositely extending sets of teeth are in the same plane. The barbering comb is further provided with a unitary handle portion having the longitudinal axis of the rectangular base portion. The handle is purposely made fiat and somewhat stubby so that it can be easily held and manipulated by the fingers and thumb of the barber. The entire body of the comb is as thin as is practical in such construction, with the handle being of a uniform thickness that is no greater than the thickness of the material through the body of the base portion. Thus, the handle is such that it can be deftly manipulated by the barber when he chooses to axially rotate the comb so as to freely alternate the comb to present either face thereof toward the cutting head of his clippers.

The clipper guide means embodied in the combs construction comprises a row or line of nodule-like pr jections which protrude from the side surfaces of a plurality of the teeth making up one of the aforementioned sets. A critical aspect of the invention is the positioning of the nodule-like projections in relation to the longitudinal axis of the comb. Each projection is an integral extension from the side surface of a tooth but the projectionspreferably are not extended from adjacent teeth. Rather, it is preferred that two projection-free teeth are interposed between teeth having the integral projections protruding respectively therefrom so that the total number of projections is substantially less than the total number of teeth in the set.

Another critical feature of the cornbs design relates to angling the straight line of projections on the face of the comb so that the row of projections forms an acute angle in relation to the longitudinal axis of the combs body. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the line of projections does not extend the full length of the teeth set from which it protrudes. The line of projections extends less than three-fourths the long dimension of the face of the comb, leaving a substantial area of teeth at the end of the comb opposite the handle without any projections at all.

The functional advantages of the features of the invention will be best understood from the ensuing detailed description when read with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of one preferred embodiment of my new and improved barbering comb.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmental elevation illustrating another embodiment of my bar-bering comb.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line IIIIII of FIGURE 1.

Referring first to FIGURE 1, my barbering comb comprises a substantially flat base piece or body portion 4 having an elongated rectangular configuration. Extending from one side or long edge of the rectangular base piece 4 is a first set 6 of parallel comb teeth. A second set 8 of mately 13 to the longitudinal axis of the base portion 4 are a series of nodule-like projections or clipper guide stops 12. The first projection in the set 12, nearest the handle portion 10, is extended from its base tooth 6b at approximately /3 the distance along the length of the tooth 6b from the base or body portion 4. In this embodiment of my comb the guide stops or projections 12 are spaced apart so that one guide stop appears on every third tooth. The line of projections 12 as shown in FIGURE 1 ends with the projection which extends from its base tooth 6d. The projection protruding from tooth 6d is positioned back a slight distance from the end of the tooth so as to leave an end portion of the tooth extended beyond the projection.

The line of projections 12 does not extend across the full length of the comb face shown in FIGURE 1, so a substantial row of teeth as indicated by the bracket 7 comprise an area having no projections extended therefrom.

The preferred configuration for each of the projections 12 is illustrated in FIGURE 3. Each projection comprises an integral extension of the tooth from which it protrudes and has a vertical wall or stop face 12a and a sloping back portion 12b. The back portion 12b serves to provide strength and body for the projection sothat repeated striking of the clipper head thereto will not cause the projection to be broken away from the comb tooth from which it is extended. It is further provided that each prujection 12 be smoothly rounded so as to present no corners or sharp edges that will chaff the skin or snag the hair.

The embodiment of the comb shown in FIGURE 2 differs from the embodiment shown in FIGURE 1 primarily in the relative angle and length at the line of projections 12. In FIGURE 2 the line of projections 12 extends substantially the full length of the set 6 of teeth, and the projection line forms an angle with the longitudinal axis of the base portion 4 of approximately 8. It should be noted also that in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 the first projection nearest the handle portion 10 is positioned at a distance that is slightly less than half way out the length of the base tooth 60 from its point of connection to the base portion 4.

In both the embodiments illustrated in FIGURE 1 and FIGURE 2, the reverse side or opposite face of the comb (not shown) would be flat and unobstructed, presenting a face that would be identical to the comb face shown in FIGURE 1 if the projections 12 were removed therefrom.

Although I have illustrated exemplary embodiments of my invention, it will be apparent that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A barbering comb having a substantially flat planar configuration comprising a thin base piece formed as an elongated rectangle; two sets of teeth extending from opposite sides of said rectangular base piece of 180 to each other to form two substantially flat and directly opposite faces on said comb, with each of said sets comprising a plurality of parallel teeth of equal length; the teeth of the first of said sets having nodule projections spaced inwardly from the free ends of the comb, protruding perpendicular to one face of said comb and defining a straight line thereover, with said line defining an acute angle greater than zero degrees in relation to the longitudinal axis of said base piece.

2. A barbering comb as defined in claim 1 and further comprising a substantially fiat handle portion extended from a narrow end of said rectangular base piece and in the same plane therewith.

3. A barbering comb as defined in claim 1 wherein said angle is of at least 5.

4. A barbering comb as defined in claim 3 wherein said line of projections extends less than three-fourths the length of said face of said comb.

5. A barbering comb as defined in claim 3 wherein said line of projections extends substantially the full length of said face.

6. A barbering comb as defined in claim 3 wherein the first of said first projections at an end of said line is spaced approximately midway along the length of the tooth from which said first projection protrudes.

7. A barbering comb as defined in claim 6 wherein the last of said projections at the other end of said line is spaced back from the free end of the tooth from which said last projection protrudes.

8. A barbering comb as defined in claim 3 wherein the greatest thickness through said handle portion is substantially equal to the thickness through said base piece.

6 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1923 Cornellier 132-45 12/1953 Bauer 132-45 8/1954 Bauer 132-45 1/ 1957 Richmond 13245 1/1959 Watkins 132-45 FOREIGN PATENTS 8/1906 France.

LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

J. W. MITCHELL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BARBERING COMB HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT PLANAR CONFIGURATION COMPRISING A THIN BASE PIECE FORMED AS AN ELONGATED RECTANGLE; TWO SETS OF TEETH EXTENDING FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID RECTANGULAR BASE PIECE OF 180* TO EACH OTHER TO FORM TWO SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT AND DIRECTLY OPPOSITE FACES ON SAID COMB, WITH EACH OF SAID SETS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL TEETH OF EQUAL LENGTH; THE TEETH OF THE FIRST OF SAID SETS HAVING NODULE PROJECTIONS SPACED INWARDLY FROM THE FREE ENDS OF THE COMB, PROTRUDING PERPENDICULAR TO ONE FACE OF SAID COMB AND DEFINING A STRAIGHT LINE THEREOVER, WITH SAID LINE DEFINING AN ACUTE ANGLE GREATER THAN ZERO DEGREES IN RELATION TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID BASE PIECE. 